 This is a Rhine review. Oh shoot. Oh Welcome back to exotic wine travel the show that helps you drink adventurously so you can expand your pout and expand your mind I am your host Matthew Horky We're coming to you with a wine review a tasting episode So if you're a wine geek you want to might might want to stick around for those that are more casual wine fans I'll try to make this fun in a way You know, I've been talking about making the channel more of like a vlog style channel and and creating more of that kind of content But we are gonna do tasting reviews because this is how the exotic wine travel YouTube channel started and I guess We can't of course forget about our origin. So we're going to Italy Again again, if you know me, you know that I love Italian wines and we got four Italian wines here from four Very distinctive regions three of the regions that are extremely hot and well-known one less or so But I think the wine is gonna bring some heat So you got to know these wines are from this distributor I know called a gamma and in the wine industry or like most industries everything's about Relationships right so the founder of gamma I actually met when I first went to free leave and it's here Julia a few years ago He has started kind of his own wine distribution company Distributing wines from all over Europe even California and he picks out some really nice small producers and although I know him well Even though he's kind of like a chap. I'd like nothing more but to destroy these wines. He's bringing it. No, I'm just kidding Let's get into let's get into some of the wines shall we without further ado the first we have is Solchies method of classical those size zero, which is like Bruten at tour basically this is from Lombarda and This this I don't know that this is the one that I know the least about I know it's a method of classical So made the champagne method, you know Italians For a long time where the world's biggest market for sparkling wines I don't know if that's the case now obviously Prosecco is a famous a famous Sparkling wine that comes out of Italy made that tank, but there's a lot of other good stuff made I've tasted some beautiful French Accordes, you know French Accorda is from Lombarda Which Lombardi this the region that we're tasting this wine from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and other Autochotanist varieties. I think it's on the lease for 12 Months, let's give this a smell shall we? mmm fresh and fruity don't think champagne But think a lot of pear kind of lemon flavors starfruit quince It's not overly explosively fruity, but it is fruity not a ton of yeasty No, it's just taste that smells like a fresh and fruity sparkle Let's see what the bubble situation is like here. Oh for those of you that that are judging me I love to taste sparkling wines and champagnes out of regular wine glasses out of flutes It's just too difficult to get aromas out I usually like the bigger the better actually when it comes to tasting sparkling wines Let's give this a go nice small bead of bubbles not super prickly not super aggressive, but they're there are nice Not a super complex sparkling wine, but a wine that's really enjoyable really fruity something I'd love to have on a hot summer day is an aperitif just tons of fun to drink It's a little bit to sweet. It's a dry wine But still a little bit sweeter than I would expect from a brewed zero or dosage zero So, uh, yeah pretty nice wine and I guess I'd not the most complex wine in the world, but delicious well-made That's for sure. I think one thing I'm gonna do on this video on some videos I'm gonna stop I'm actually gonna stop scoring the wines because I do have an article coming up about these wines Let's move on next is a wine. I am dying to try. This is the Santa Maria La Nave Mela sumade so this is from etna, but it's not labeled in etna Bianco It's just labeled a Cecilia Bianco made from the grape Greca Nico Dorato, which sounds like an intimidating, you know, Italy is home to you know tons and tons of native grapes But they think that Greca Nico Dorato is actually Garganega, which is the grape that's responsible The grape that is responsible for the wines of suave suave did I pronounce it right Garganega? Yeah, I think I think I did Let's see. I'm in different country mode. So I'm in different languages in my head right now So I think I got that right. Let's give this go, you know at them if you haven't been there. It's amazing This is humongous tall volcano Incisely, I think it's the most one of the most active or the most active in Europe. I think it's about 10,000 feet It's like 3,000 something odd meters high These vines are grown at a thousand meters when you go there. It's really cool because Sisley is so far south It's actually closer to Africa than it is to Italy to Europe But it's quite cool because etna is really high and when you're tasting wines there You constantly just see smoke coming out of the volcano. So you're in the tasting room Just looking up at a smoking mountain awesome You know, I used to be in love with the Reds Lately I've been finding myself enjoying the Whites a little bit more. Let's see how this bad boy tastes This is a very fairly new producer. I think new brand but use old family vineyards I have to say I tasted the Etna Rosso a couple weeks ago and it was Phenomenal wine outstanding wine to mean like a 94 point type wine. Let me see what the vintage is on this 2016 so it's a white with a couple years of age and let's give this a go and I'll quit blabbering Within some of these etna whites a lot of smoke comes out of the glass at first ash Seriously, a lot of people think that's BS volcanic wines all that mumbo jumbo But you do in whites, I think get the smoky ashy type of note a little bit of natural gas type flavors And a little bit of honey to me almost tastes almost smells a little bit like a lighter Dry toe guy from hungry pear lime flavors a little bit of yogurt. It smells very complex I'm really excited to taste this. Let's get go, you know, they call Sicily and especially etna etna and Sicily kind of You know the burgundy of the Mediterranean because of the fine nuanced wines white and red that can be produced there Let's give this a go Wow from what I know this wine did not see oh, but for a wine is only seen stainless steel This is not just plain boring. This has got tons of layers a lot of layers of flu A lot of layers of complexity really gritty Texture almost like sandy texture sometimes they get that would really well-made Chardonnay's that have been barrel-aged just Miss wonderful wine. Let me give this a go here more on the mineral-driven side and that really fruity So this is for some pretty hardcore wine geeks not people. They're just want fruity fresh wines Whoo, I'm gonna drink this because it's a rainy day out today. It's rainy. It's cold I need something to warm me up here. Wow Super high-quality wine Minerally like I said, I think this is gonna go this is the kind of wine we're on the sea right now It's gonna go great with any type of shellfish. I would rather have it with shellfish more than fish You know oysters muscles clams Really lovely lovely smoky wine Like I said, I'm not gonna score in this episode, but I'm gonna tell you I'll taste through this I think this wine will score pretty darn well. Oh Good job Santa Maria la nothing. Oh I'd like to both of the wines I've tasted from them. Let's move on We're moving on to two of my favorite regions in Italy for reds first. We're talking about Chianti classico. This is the tenuta la novella Chiara Casa di Colombo Chianti classico 2017 Mostly San Giovese. Now for those of you, you know, let's see Chianti a lot I have to say you know Chianti is kind of a very generic designation. It's kind of a big area in Tuscany There's eight eight several sub zones. The most coveted is Chianti classico And if you want to know that you're getting a Chianti classico So it's like Chianti and the Chianti classico right in the center on the heart of it Look for this little rooster right here That note that means that you're getting a Chianti classico These wines are generally more structured more layered a little bit more excited and not a little bit more Usually a lot more exciting. I think Chianti classico actually for me is the best value for Age worthy pedigreed wines. Sometimes you can get outstanding Chianti classicos for For something like 20 euros, maybe even less Very rarely are you going to have to pay, you know, even up to 30 40 for the reserve as they're really really just fantastic wines Let's give this a go. Shall we 2017 a higher uneven year in Tuscany? Not like 2016, which was legendary and perfect, but still some good wines are produced. I've had some great 17 Chianti classicos Let's give this a go here This could be I would not I would not take this as a Chianti classico on first smell actually I think of the more of this is a gamay more kind of got more of a strawberry sour cherry Note to it. Uh, it's more fruity. It's you know, when I think of Chianti classico I think of forest floor. I think of minerals. I think of other complexities You have strawberry sour cherry easy going really smooth and easy to drink Doesn't have super high acidity or sourness or super high tannins like Chianti classico could have This is more more of an easy drinking one. This is the type of wine I think you bring to a barbecue or cook out where you have a lot of people They're you know, just drinking kind of casually This is going to go fantastic with any kind of meat meat dishes stew dishes And it's just gonna be a wine that everybody likes. It's fruity. It's easy going It's well made not the most complex Chianti classico in the world But I think this is a very nicely priced wine and for that price you're getting pedigree You're getting some layers and I think this wine can develop in the bottle over time a little bit longer Let's give this a go here. So funny. It really reminds me of a a a crew bogey late From the south of frat. It's more than a Chianti classico Interesting one good good one. Okay. Let's move on my other favorite area for reds in Italy Uh, pia monte. This is the davide pelisari Langa e nebbiolo 2017 a hundred percent nebbiolo So it's a nebbiolo and san giovese are two of my favorite grapes, you know Nebbiolo for those don't know responsible for the great legendary wines of Barolo Barbaresco You also have some lower classifications some more easy drinking wines more more budget friendly wines Langa e nebbiolo and nebbiolo the alba Love it nebbiolo the alba kind of has more some stricter regulations So producers sometimes opt to go with langa e nebbiolo because it can be more creative in the cellar I want to drink a lot more langa e nebbiolo nebbiolo the alba because you can get some of these I think this is a 20-something euro wine Instead of dropping, you know, how the wines are on Barolos are priced now these days 30 40 50 100 Even up to a thousand from on 14. Oh for some serious Barolo. This offers A mean this offers immediate pleasure at a fraction of the price point I don't know much about this producer all I know is he's worked all over the world He went back to kind of his family's homeland. I think in raro right across the river from Barolo Bought some land and it's starting to make some wine. Let's give this a go light true nebbiolo color with a little bit of an orange rim Let's give this a go nebbiolo is so when done. Well, it's so romantic Wow, you can get lost in the romas of nebbiolo here rose petal Crushed cranberries dried cranberries sour cherry tar even some of that leather character 2016 was a legendary vintage in piamante 17 not not as much But I have had some wonderful 17s. They're starting to roll out onto the shelves. Well Really good Really good one. There's a reason that people, you know collectors and stuff that are That love burgundy get into nebbiolo because you can get those kind of earthy perfume notes The those layered textures many layers of texture on the palette Nebbiolo starts all delicate perfume in the nose and then in the front of the palette and then Oh It hits you hard with tanons in the back end and that's what this bad boy does too This I think has the complexity The nuances if I stuck it in a barbaresco tasting I think people would kind of be fooled. This is a wine. I think that far outperforms this price point I think I've seen it in Italy available for 20 something 20 22 euros. I think this one's a steal Go for this right away. If you see it small production. I think this is the only wine he makes so wow Awesome. So, you know fantastic. We had some international grapes, you know grecanica dorato garganega San Giovese nebbiolo, that's the magic of Italy so many unique grapes so many unique places And it obviously always the wines go great with food So check out some of these wines. Check out Italian wines. I'll put my friends I think he only distributes to restaurants. I don't think he goes direct to customers, but Just in case you see these wines. I'll put the link in the description box and guys Remember to keep drinking adventurously expand that palette expand that mine Enjoy yourselves, and I will see you at the next episode Hello, thanks for watching. Hey, you made it to the end Make sure to subscribe to our youtube channel click the bell So you know when new videos are out if you like content like this check out our patreon page Where you get some behind the scenes exclusive content. Thanks for watching. Cheers